Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/822

 INDIANAPOLIS

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INDIANAPOLIS

burg, with an academy of 100 pupils. The Sisters of Mercy have a hospital at Lawrenceburg. The Ursu- lines have houses in Madison and Evansville; and the Servants of Mary at Mount Vernon. The Catholic population of the Diocese of Indianapohs (formerly Vincenne.s) in 1900 was 118,200; that of the Uiocese of Fort Wayne was 90,405.

Catholics Distinguished in Public Life. — Individual Catholics have not been prominent in the higher offices of public life. Until recent years, predominant religious feeling would have barred such preferment. But to the highest lines of business and positions of trust, their ability and integrity have carried repre- sentative Catholics in large numbers. Timothy E. Howard, one of the judges for some time of the Su- preme Court of Appeals, and John E. Lamb, for one term a member of Clongress from the Terre-Haute district, are both Catholics.

English, Conquest of the North West (Indianapolis. 1896); Dillon, History of Indiana (1S59); DvNS, Indiana in American Com. Series (Boston, 1900); Levering, Historic Indiana (New Yorlv, 1909); Turpie, Sketches of my own Times (Iii'li:iria|n>Iis, 1903); Law, History of Vincennes; Alerding, History of Dio- cese of Vincennes; Iuem. History of Diocese of Fort Wayne {l^JU7); FoRDHAM, Personal Narrative (Cleveland, 1906); Smith, His- torical Sketches of Old Vincennes (Vincennes, 1902); Lockwood, The New Harmony Communities (Marion, 1902); Official Cath. Directory (.Milwaukee, 1909); Appleton's Cyclopcedia of Ameri- can Bioo., III. s. V. Harrison, William Henry: Cox, Recollec- tions of Wabash Valley (Lafayette, 1860): Turner in The American Nation, a History, XIV, s. v. Rise of the New West (New York, 1906); American Hist. Review (April, 1909); Mc.Master, Hist, of People of U. S. (New York, 1906).

J. Walter Wilstach.

Indianapolis, Diocese of (Indianapolitana); suffragan of Cincinnati, established as the Dioce.se of Vincennes in IK'A, but by brief dated 28 March, and promulgated 30 .\pril, 1898, the pope changed the see to Indianapolis. It comprises the southern half of the State of Indiana, south of Fountain, Montgomery, Boone, Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Randolph, and Warren counties, an area of 18,479 square miles. In 18.34 the diocese extended over Indiana and eastern Illinois and was detached from the then Diocese of Bardstown. The Catholic history of Vincennes runs back to the establishment there of a fort by some French traders in 1 702 and it takes its name from one of these intrepid Canadian explorers. In the .settlement that grew up about it, as through all the Illinois, Kas- ka.skia, and Indiana country. Catholic families set- led and rude churches were built for the Jesuit and RiScoUet missionaries who from time to time visited or were stationed among them. Pere Sebastian Meurin, a Jesuit, settled there in 1764 to care for the desolate chapels and disorganized congregations. The British having taken possession of this territory in 1763, it formed part of the diocese of the Bishop of Quebec, who lived at Kaskaskia, and occasionally visited Vincennes, which had no priest. In 1769 he sent there Pierre Gibault, "the patriot priest of the West", who spent two months reviving religion among the Catholics of the district, about seven hundred in all. This was the same Father Gibault who, when Col. George Rogers Clark captured Vincennes in 1779 for the cause of the revolting colonies, w'as chiefly instrumental in per- suading the settlers of this part of the West to throw in their fortunes against the English and immediately accept the new government of the colonies.

The Catholic population of the diocese was poor and ignorant, scattered widely, without priests ex- cept a few who belonged to other dioceses. To rule over them Rev. Simon William Gabriel BrutC' de R6- mur was consecrated as the first bishop on 28 Octo- ber, 1834. "No priests, not one except those from other dioce.ses. Having come alone, I reside alone, in a most depressing situation ", he wrote after having made a tour of his charge. He went to Europe to seek help, in July, 183.5, and returned to Vincennes in August, 1836, bringing back nineteen priests and seminarians and enough money to start a seminary,

an orphan asylum and a school, to finish a humble cathedral in Vincennes and to aid several small churches elsewhere. This whole western section awakened to new religious life under his zealous in- spiration, but the hardships of the missionary field broke down his strength and he died 26 June, 1839.

Celestine Rene Laurent Guynemer de la Hailan- diere, his vicar-gcncral, succeeded him as second bishop. Born 2 May, 1798, at Friandin, near Cam- bourg, France, he was ordained priest 28 May, 182.5, and volunteered for the American missions in 1836. He had returned to France and was begging for aid in France when he was named titular of Axierne and coadjutor to Bishop Brut^, who died, however, before the new bishop was consecrated in Paris, 18 .August, 1839. In 1841 he estimated tlie number of Catholics in the diocese at about 2.5,000, attended by 33 priests. The same year he introduced the Congregation of the Holy Cross (the present important foundation at Notre Dame) into the diocese, also the Eudists to take charge of a college and the Sisters of Providence. He subsequently became discontented with the lack of harmony between himself and his clergy and re- signed the see 16 July, 1847, but took no titular ap- pointment. He died in his native town to which he had retired, 1 May, 1882.

Jean Etienne Bazin, Vicar-General of Mobile, was appointed third bishop and con.sccrated 24 Oct., 1847. He was born at Duerne, near Lyons, France, 15 Oct., 1796, and ordained priest 22 July, 1822. He left France to minister in Mobile in October, 1830. He manifested great zeal on taking charge of his diocese; but he died 23 April, 1848.

Jacques Maurice de St. Palais, vicar-general of the diocese, was consecrated fourth bishop, 14 January, 1849. Born 15 November, 1811, at La Salvetat, France, he was ordained priest 28 May, 1836 and emi- grated to Indiana, where he took up the work of a missionary. After his consecration he made an offi- cial visitation of his diocese, where he found aljout 30,000 Catholics with 35 priests, among whom he at once infu.sed a hearty spirit of activity. He intro- duced a foundation of Benedictine monks from the Swiss Abbey of Ein.siedeln in 1849, and began an orphan asylum. Lender his direction the diocese in- creased steadily, the number of priests rose to 104, churches to 145 and the Catholic population to about 80,000, with schools, hospitals and other institutions. He died 28 June, 1877.

Francis Silas Chatard, then rector of the North American College, Rome, was appointed the fifth bishop and consecrated in Rome, 12 May, 1878. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, 13 December, 1834, and studied at Mount St. Mary's college, Em- mitsburg. He then took up the study of medicine and received the degree of tloctor at the University of Maryland, but soon decided to enter Holy orders, became a student at the Propaganda College, Rome, and was ordained priest there in June, 1862, winning the doctor's degree the following year. In 1868 he succeeded Rt. Rev. William G. McCloskey as rector of the American College, having for several years previously been associated with its administration.

In 1900 Bishop Chatard asked for an auxilmry and Rev. Denis O'Donoghue, rector of St. Patrick'.s Church, Indianapolis, was consecrated 25 April, 1900, titular Bishop of Pomario and auxiliary to Bishop Chatard. Bishop O'Donoghue was born 30 Nov., 1848, in Davies county, Indiana, and received his early education at St. Meinrad's College, and at St. Thomas' Seminary, Bardstown, Kentucky. He studied theol- ogy at the Sulpician Seminary, Montreal, where he was ordained priest 6 Sept., 1874. He served as chan- cellor of the diocese for twenty-one years.

The religious communities now established in the diocese include: Men, 172 — Benedictines, Francis- cans (St. Louis and Cincinnati provinces and Minor